


Lesson Learned?

by lunaseemoony



Series: The Empty Hearts [1]
Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Kid Fic, Pets, Time Babies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-26
Updated: 2016-05-26
Packaged: 2018-07-10 07:35:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 613
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6973351
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lunaseemoony/pseuds/lunaseemoony
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Traveling with a four-year-old Time Lord has its trials and tribulations. This isn’t the first time the Doctor's son Milo’s need to help gets himself into trouble, and it won’t be the last.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Lesson Learned?

**Author's Note:**

> This fic belongs in a multichapter ‘verse (The Empty Hearts) that I’ll be posting when it’s complete. Later. At some point.

“Ow ow ow, OW! Daddy that stings!” Milo fussed and scrambled off the infirmary bed. The TARDIS slammed her door shut, for once taking the Doctor’s side. 

The Doctor sat down his bottle of rubbing alcohol with a sigh and folded his arms. He counted the seconds of Milo’s protest: one pound on the door, two, and slump to the floor. The Doctor picked up his cup of cotton balls and the bottle of rubbing alcohol to carry across the room, kneeling down to his son’s level to resume his work. 

“Saving the day comes with a price Milo. If you hadn’t done it on your own I wouldn’t be cleaning scratch marks from your face.”

Milo’s hackles flared right back up, along with his voice. If ever there was a doubt, he was his grandmother’s grandchild to be sure. “You were busy you said! I was helping! The drakelings - ow!”

Sphinx jumped up and growled in protest. The Doctor extended a hand to block her. “And you,” he furrowed his brow at his son’s snow leopard, “what’ve you got to say for yourself? You were supposed to be looking after him not helping him into trouble.” 

She chuffed at him and settled next to her charge with her head in his lap, no amount of pride lost whatsoever. She’d sooner call herself a canine than defend herself to a Time Lord, higher species or not. 

"Daddy -”

The Doctor chucked a soiled cotton ball into a nearby bin. “You could’ve been killed! You want to talk about mother dragons, Milo? Your mum’s one I’ll say that. She’d never forgive me if anything happened to you! We’re already in hot water as it is!” One sniff, two sniffs, three sniffs... “Oh no no no, Milo. Don’t cry.”

Too late. The little boy burst into tears, which further stung the baby dragon scratches on his cheek. He wailed in pain and launched himself at Sphinx for comfort, shunning the perceived source of his anguish. The Doctor reached out and peeled him off the giant cat. The little one didn’t fight him on this one, and let the Doctor cradle him in his arms on the cold coral floor. 

“Sphinx go fetch that flannel for me,” the Doctor pointed at a folded cloth on the infirmary bed. She leapt up to grab it and brought it back to the Doctor. “Shh,” he whispered into the boys downy chocolate hair, pressing the soft flannel to the stinging cheek. “I’m sorry, Daddy’s sorry.”

“Then w-w-why’re you m-m-mad?” Milo stammered. 

“You went out on your own. That’s dangerous.” He rocked the boy back and forth, as he always had, willing the tears and pain away. “And you scared me.”

Milo hiccuped and pulled his head from within the Doctor’s jacket, reflecting the eyes he’d given his son right back at him. Only his were still innocent, and the Doctor selfishly yearned to keep them that way for as long as he could. “But daddies are brave. Time Lords don’t get scared.”

He’d tugged a little smirk onto the Doctor’s face. “This one does. Your dad’s a coward where his baby boy is concerned, Milo Peter Tyler.”

“’m not a baby!”

The Doctor pressed a kiss to the not-baby’s forehead and broadened his smile. “Well you made a good choice to put those drakelings back in the nest. But a grown up tells - a better choice would be to let mum and dad help. Yes?”

“Yeah all right,” Milo surrendered and carefully wiped his eyes. “Can we go see more dragons Daddy?”

The Doctor laughed. “If your mum ever lets you out of the TARDIS again, sure, that’d be fantastic.”


End file.
